


Annie's Boys

by Sammys_Rose



Series: Adventures of Annie Kelly [6]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Best Friends, Fluff, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Violence, Sibling Bonding, Stupidity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 01:33:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15697434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammys_Rose/pseuds/Sammys_Rose
Summary: Day 6: Jobs (What does a hard days work look like for them? Do they work as a Newsie, or do they do something else? Do they go to school at all?)How Annie works with each of her boys





	Annie's Boys

Every morning when I walk into Newsies Square the same thing always happens. I buy my papes from Mr. Wiesel and someone, usually  Elmer, hollers at me across the square. **  
**

  
“Better hurry up, Annie! Your boys is waitin’ on ya!”

I walk over to the wagons to find four boys waiting for me. The minute I walk up, they all turn to look at me. I usually stand there for a minute just to draw out the tension. Then, I’ll throw my arm around one of their shoulders and we’ll head off to sell. I never really plan which one  I’m gonna pick, but I know picking any of them will end well.  
  
 ** _Jack_**

On days I sell with my twin brother, we always finish early. We’re both pretty fantastic salesmen. Jack’s always been naturally charismatic, so he’s able to use that to his advantage. Me, I use the “bat your eyelashes and look sweet" approach. When our… charm fails us, we end up seeing who can make up the most outrageous headlines. (My favorite is still the time Jack sold a pape claimin’ the princess of France was in New York lookin’ for a husband!) Together, the two of us can sell about 150 papes by 3 o'clock.   
  
After we finish sellin’ we’ll usually head over to the Bowery for a little bit. Miss Medda will send Jack off to paint backdrops while I “help her rehearse.” Usually, these rehearsals start off with the two of us talking about what’s going on in my life. Then, she might show me what she’s working on for that night’s show. Most of the time though, she just lets me practice my singing. She always sits and listens with a fond smile while I sing whatever song comes to mind. Once Jack came and sat beside her as I was singing. Miss Medda looked at him and beamed.  
  
“That sister of yours is quite the little songbird! She’s got a real talent.” She’d said.  
  
Jack had listened while I sang a tune our ma had sang when we were little. He looked at me and grinned.  
  
“Yeah,” he said proudly. “She does.”

**_Albert_ **

I always love days with Albert! He’s, my best friend, so it doesn’t even seem like work. Albert likes to say he only likes selling with me so much because I know where all the best spots are. I know better, though. It’s easy for the two of us to sell a pretty good number of papes. We spend the whole day laughing and having a good time, so people are just kind of drawn to us.

The really funny thing about selling with Albert is how often people assume we’re twins. I guess people just see the red hair and freckles and assume. The first time it happened, we were so confused! Now, though, we’ve learned to work it to our advantage. Jack laughed so hard  when Al and I came back to the lodge one day and told him people had started calling us the “adorable red-headed twin newsies.”

“Good luck, Albert!” Jack had chuckled. “I guess she’s your problem now!”  
  
I stuck my tongue out at him as Albert wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“I’ll take her! She knows all the best sellin’ spots.” Albert had replied as I rolled my eyes and smiled.  
  


**_Race_ **

Selling with Race is always so much fun! It gives me a chance to show off my competitive side. We always end up trying to see who can sell the most papes. We’ll stand at the  same corner on opposite sides of the street and sell until about noon. Then, we walk to Jacob’s where the loser pays for lunch. After lunch, we’ll go back out and work together to sell our remaining papes.

After we finish selling, if the weather’s nice, Race and I will walk over to Brooklyn to hang out with Spot. Spot and I have always been pretty good friends. We surprisingly have a lot of the same interests. I’m also one of the few people who isn’t intimidated by his reputation. In return, he’s one of the few Newsies outside Manhattan who respects me as much as he does Jack.

I remember one day last summer, Race and I were hanging out with Spot and a few of the Brooklyn boys down at the docks. I was laughing as I sat with my bare feet dangling in the river, watching as Race and Spot goofed around in the water. Eventually, they swam over and hauled themselves up onto the dock.

“Hey, Annie!” Spot had said, turning to face me. “I dare ya to jump in the river!”  
  
I looked at him like he’d grown a second head.  
  
“There is no way in hell, Conlon!”  
  
“Why not? Is the queen of Manhattan scared?” he asked with a smirk.  
  
“Oh, Spotty, I’m not scared of anything. Least of all, you.” I replied, returning the smirk.  
  
I stood up and turned my back to the river. I grinned at Race and gave Spot a flirtatious wink before doing a backflip off the dock. When I resurfaced, I swam over to the dock where the boys helped me out of the water.  
  
“Impressive, Little Red! That’s a hell of a girl ya got there Race.” Spot teased.  
  
“Yep, I’m pretty lucky!” Race joked, throwing an arm around my waist.  
  
I’ve never seen Spot Conlon laugh harder than when I pushed Race in the East River.

**_Crutchie_ **

Days I spent with Crutchie were always a lot more relaxed than my days with the other boys. We figured out a long time ago that we didn’t have to try as hard to sell our papes. We sell a fair amount from Crutchie using the “crippled orphan" approach. When that doesn’t work, I take a page from Race’s book and flirt my way through a sale.  It may take us a little longer to finish, but I love spending time with Crutchie. He’s like a second brother.  
  
When we first started selling together, it made the rest of the boys kind nervous. They were worried the Delanceys would cause us trouble. That worry was quickly put to rest the first time we sold together. Morris came around tryin’ to mess with Crutchie. Let’s just say, thanks to me, his nose ain’t been quite right since.  
  
When we got back to the lodge that day, Crutchie and I climbed up to the penthouse. We sat there with our legs dangling over the side.  
  
“Hey, Annie?” Crutchie said after a few minutes of silence.  
  
“Yeah, Crutchie?” I replied, smiling over at him.  
  
“I’m real glad we’re friends.”  
  
“Me too, Crutchie. Me too.”

At the end of the day, no matter who I sell with, I end up lying in my bunk thinking about my day. Sometimes  I’ll be laughing at a ridiculous headline Jack made up or a joke Albert told me. Other days I’m thinking about how excited Crutchie was when we saw a cute dog. And some days I’m wringing water out of my hair from being dragged off the dock. One thing is always true, though. I got to enjoy another day with my boys and THAT will never fail to make me smile.

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate kudos and comments! Come talk to me on Tumblr @thecaptainsgingersnap


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